1955 Granco FM-610U Tube Radio (pics)

[Robb]

Went in to a local vintage stereo shop this weekend and while digging through the back of the store, I found this Granco FM-610U Tube Radio. It was awfully dirty but no cracked and had a sticker on the bottom stating that it works, but noisy. So I took a chance on it and paid $20.00 for it. Took it home and cleaned it up in and out and gave it a polish.

The story of this company is crazy. The company was around for approx 10 or so years, but the factory burned down and management did not renew the insurance. I read that a Hot Iron was left unattended ! Shortly after, the company went bankrupt.

I was recently in touch (through email), with the daughter of the owner of Granco.
She told me that Granco design and assembly-line production made Granco the first U.S. company to produce low-cost AM-FM radios and the company would have continued to do well if Management had done the right thing. There were also Granco works in Emerson bodies.

More info here:
http://www.radiomuseum.org/dsp_herst...ompany_id=3849
http://antiqueradios.com/forums/view...27617#p1327617
http://antiqueradios.com/forums/view...27021#p1327021

[Sandy G]

Kewl !

[maxhifi]

Blonder tongue made a similar product.. I would like to see inside this one, my blonder tongue fm tuner is so cheaply made it's amazing
It works

[Robb]

This radio has some nice weight to it.
Here's some inner shots

http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/granco_610.html

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by maxhifi

Blonder tongue made a similar product.. I would like to see inside this one, my blonder tongue fm tuner is so cheaply made it's amazing
It works

I have a Sarkes-Tarzian FM radio, that's similar in design, but has the Zenith type Gated-Beam FM detector using a 12BN6 and even has a buzz control.
They made one for Admiral, as well.

[bob91343]

Note that there is no variable tuning capacitor. It moves slugs through coils to tune. A spinoff of the Dumont Inductuner or the Collins PTO.

[Jeffhs]

I'm amazed these FM-only radios sold at all in the 1950s. What was there to listen to on FM in most cities (let alone areas far from such cities) in those days? AM radio was still what most people listened to back then. The reception problems, if you were any distance from major cities, made it all but impractical to have any kind of FM radio until the 1970s or so. FM stations in major cities in those days either simulcast AM stations or played automated elevator music, and many of those stations went silent due to lack of advertising revenue. Most of the FM stations in Cleveland were still automated as late as the 1980s; most did not switch to live programming with DJs until the early 1990s. In fact, the last station to drop automated elevator music in 1991 was located about 60 miles outside Cleveland. That station is now operated by a large media conglomerate which has already bought up most of the FMs in the area (the rest having been swallowed up by CBS Radio), and is now playing some of the poorest excuses for music I have ever heard in my life.

[jr_tech]

I have another version of this radio which is AM/FM in a maroon cabinet. It still says "FM" at the top of the cabinet, but the raised frequency numbers are covered by a brass plate with printed markings for the frequencies of *both* bands. A lever switch on one side selects the band. Looks like the one in this listing:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1955-GRANCO-...-/350387681360
Cute little radio, heavy as a brick, not a great DX set.

Update: found more detail about my AM/FM version:
http://nabilaagila.com/radio/

jr

[Robb]

These Granco radios are not the easiest to find, so I read. Considering they werent in business for too long, and sold Primarily niche FM radios. Im sure the radios needed very high sensitivity to pickup the FM stations back then !

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Robb

These Granco radios are not the easiest to find, so I read. Considering they werent in business for too long, and sold Primarily niche FM radios. Im sure the radios needed very high sensitivity to pickup the FM stations back then !

The Granco's worked better than the earlier Zenith's and RCA's built before it. For a simple design, they drifted very little and were extremely reliable.
I used to buy every one of those radios, I could get, as they picked up the local FM stations, using just the single one foot wire, coming out of the back.

[Reece]

I had one of the AM/FM Grancos around 1960 and with a properly placed audio tap used it as a tuner with my first Hi Fi system. It worked great. Somebody gave me a rotator and I "made" an antenna and mounted all on the roof, maybe only 20 feet off the ground, and could pick up stations hundreds of miles away.

[Robb]

Update:

Brought in the radio to a local radio repair shop. They replaced a few caps.
All original tubes work. The speaker is blown, so it will need replacing.
I also painted the lettering with Krylon Gold paint. Looks better now.

If anyone has an original speaker for it, let me know.

Heres a video:

http://youtu.be/BV0rUFGKwsE

[dieseljeep]

Originally Posted by Robb

Update:

Brought in the radio to a local radio repair shop. They replaced a few caps.
All original tubes work. The speaker is blown, so it will need replacing.
I also painted the lettering with Krylon Gold paint. Looks better now.

If anyone has an original speaker for it, let me know.

Heres a video:

http://youtu.be/BV0rUFGKwsE

It sounds like the cone is warped and the voice coil is rubbing on the pole piece. It seems like those oval speakers were more prone to do that.
An easy, temporary fix, is to remove the chassis and while the radio is playing, press gently on the back of the cone, on both sides to see what side is causing the distortion and try to stick some cotton between the frame and the cone, to minimize the drag. You'll find out easy enough. The so-called shop you took it to, should have, at least, done that.
The speaker is rather special, as the frame is sheared off, on the bottom and the magnet housing must be, drilled and tapped, to mount it on the chassis.
Reconing is a better option.

[Robb]

There's a very good shop that may be able to repair the speaker for me.
Gonna see what they can do.

http://www.fabaudio.com/

[Electronic M]

One trick I've heard of is to wet the cone then let the speaker dry open end up. After it has dried it should not rub again.